Three Stylish British Silent Films by Anthony Asquith and Arthur Robison
While Anthony Asquith’s Shooting Stars and Underground look excellent on Kino Lorber’s digital restoration, Arthur Robison’s The Informer looks most spectacular.
comedy
East Meets West in Cold War Vacations ‘The Golden Head’ and ‘Flying Clipper’
Flicker Alley restores Cinerama travelogue spectacles The Golden Head and Flying Clipper.
Harold Lloyd Proves Himself a Real Hickory in Silent Film ‘The Kid Brother’
Over 90 years later, silent film The Kid Brother works well as entertainment for modern audiences, for whom its calculated old-fashioned corn and apparent simplicity aren't a problem but par for the course.
What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Literature? Olivier Assayas’ ‘Non-Fiction’
By satirizing the French literary intelligentsia, Assayas' Non-Fiction (Doubles vie) chronicles the hypocrisies of the modern psyche without attaching itself to any particular worldview.
A Silent Clown Is Given Voice with ‘The Alice Howell Collection’
Silent film actor Alice Howell conveyed the persona of a working-class clodhopper with a huge pile of frizzy hair plopped on top of her head, and she threw herself into physical comedy as much as Lucille Ball.
‘Diamonds for Breakfast’ Aims for the Family Jewels
Marcello Mastorianni and Rita Tushingham act out Swinging London fantasies for Christopher Morahan's Diamonds for Breakfast.
‘Isn’t It Romantic’ Is Escapist Fare with a Cheeky Twist
Starring Rebel Wilson, the half rom-com, half satire Isn't It Romantic has a hypocritical message, but its self-mocking charms work well.
Thinking Outside the Box: An Interview with Bill Watterson of ‘Dave Made a Maze’
"I don't want to make statements, I want to see human behaviour and life unfold…" says director Watterson, who admits that the imaginative Dave Made a Maze has an identity crisis.
The Many Grace Notes in ‘Grace and Frankie’, Season 5
While Grace and Frankie is as fun as ever, season 5 suggests a sadder path for a show that has often pushed its sadness to the periphery.
Jackie Chan’s High-Kicking ’80s Cop Movies Are Back!
Re-releases of Police Story and Police Story 2 show writer-director-star Jackie Chan in his finest fighting style -- along with his usual over mugging for the camera.
David Byrne Channels the Weird and the Ordinary in ‘True Stories’
As a piece of both cultural history and film history, David Byrne's True Stories takes its place alongside two other films from the mid-'80s that are also steeped in a surrealistic other-worldly place, Repo Man and Blue Velvet.
‘Vice’, Dick Cheney, and the Satisfaction of the Deed Itself
Adam McKay's gonzo Dick Cheney biopic satire, Vice, won't be compared to Shakespeare, but it shares the Bard's disinterest in supervillains' motivations.